Breast Cancer Referrals Surge Impacts Cancer Waiting Times in Essex NHS Trust

The NHS covering mid and south Essex has acknowledged that a surge in breast cancer referrals is impeding the achievement of cancer waiting time targets. Despite an anticipated improvement in cancer diagnosis waiting times following a decline over the Christmas period, meeting the expected standard remains challenging.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust aims to ensure that 75% of individuals receive their cancer diagnosis within 28 days by March 2024, as per the Faster Diagnosis Standard (FDS). However, performance dropped to 57.9% in January from 62.2% in December, with the decline attributed to factors such as the Christmas holidays and January strikes. The surge in breast cancer referrals, which did not meet the expected 92% performance, further hindered the trust’s ability to achieve the overall 75% standard.

Despite efforts, the anticipated overall performance for March stands at 71%. The number of breast cancer referrals has notably increased to around 1,300 compared to approximately 960 in March last year. In response, the trust plans to implement a comprehensive action plan, including enhanced triage pathways and increased one-stop capacity, as less than five per cent of the monthly referrals are cancer-related.

The trust aims to meet the 77% diagnostic standard by 2024 and aims to have no more than 475 patients waiting over 62 days to start treatment by the end of March 2024. However, as of March 18, the number of patients waiting exceeded this target, reaching 495 patients.

Laura Harding, medical director at Broomfield Hospital, expressed concern over the surge in breast cancer referrals particularly in southwest Essex, highlighting the challenges in flexing capacity to accommodate such a substantial increase.

She said- “Breast cancer is a particular area of concern and some of this was around a real increase in referrals that we had not anticipated in southwest Essex.

“We are getting about 1,300 referrals a month just for breast. Not every patient has breast cancer but if you think that it is a large number of patients being referred in – seeing a big surge like that means no matter how much you have your capacity if you see a surge like that, we can’t always flex enough to meet that.”

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